This was Jason vs Ben (round 2)

Two weeks ago my buddy and I ran the first 5k for the bay event in Annapolis, MD. I was completely confident that I was going to destroy him, but (to my utter astonishment) was defeated by 15ft. Round 1 went to Jason for 2012.

Present day (yesterday): I didn't change my training regiment except for the normal progression of adding weekly miles. I was resolute in my opinion that my recent loss was due to completely throwing my race plan out the window at the start of the race. I was determined to stick to my times and follow the race plan I had laid out for victory!

The night before I went to dinner at 2 Rivers with some friends. My gf and I shared the grilled swordfish topped with grilled shrimp (delicious) and I followed it up with 2 double gin and tonics. Went home, skipped the nightly stretching because I didn't run that day, pinned bib to my running tank, and went to sleep only to be woken up multiple times from the freak storm that still has many without power.

After a partial nights sleep, I woke up with a twinge of a headache cursing the 2nd drink order. Dressed, mug of coffee, race bag, out the door by 6:15, arrived and parked by 7:10. The enemy (Jason) arrived shortly after. We walked around, checked out the layout of the course, stretched/warmed up, and took our places in the starting corral.

I was set on running my race, and sticking to the times I had planned out. I glanced at my pace after about an 1/8 of a mile and when I saw 5:15 I thought "NOT again... Slow down!". So I forced myself to slow down to what felt like a crawl, but eventually I saw my pace rise to a ~6:30. I was able to increase that to ~6:20 for mile 2, but started to slow by 20 seconds for the last mile. I was able to stretch it out to a sprint for the finish for an official 19:59 - my first chipped 5k under 20 minutes - SUCCESS! But even better was being able to watch Jason cross the finish line 20 seconds behind me.

I was pleased with the results, but still feel I could have shaved a few seconds by starting slower instead of slowing my pace after the start. Looking forward to the next event, and improving on my plan of attack.

To recap the race: Started fast, but slowed to planned pace. Maintained through mile 2, but started to fade (+20 seconds) with a decent kick for the finish.

Tied up 1-1 and looking for the next challenge

Slow starting pace down, and progressively increase.